“The unanswered question as of posting is: Will the courts grant a TRO?”
CEBU City – Outgoing Cebu Provincial Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia had until June 30 to be in office, yet the transition team of incoming Gov. Pamela Baricuatro still appeared grappling with uncertainty over how to ensure a smooth, orderly, and peaceful handover at noon.
Under Section 445 of the Department of the Interior and Local Government mandate, June 30 marks the official turnover of authority and the formal assumption of office by duly elected Gov. Baricuatro, who defeated Garcia by a margin of 342,844 votes.
Baricuatro amassed 1,107,708 votes compared to Garcia’s 764,884 — a result that has been a bitter pill for the outgoing governor to swallow, given that she was defeated by a newcomer to politics and one without a traditional campaign machinery.
On June 30, whispers surfaced that the defeated governor’s camp was exploring the possibility of filing a Temporary Restraining Order to halt the turnover proceedings.
This sparked widespread reaction, with many questioning why Garcia appeared unwilling to accept the will of the Cebuano majority — expressed in the May 12, 2025 midterm election.
After all, political observers said this was the same governor who often invoked the saying “The Voice of the People is the Voice of God.” Now that the people have spoken, some ask, has that voice suddenly lost its resonance?
Adding to the controversies in her final days in office, Garcia issued a memorandum order instructing Provincial Treasurer Roy Salubre to earmark Trust Fund allocations for ongoing programs like Suroy-suroy sa Sugbu, Sugbu Negosyo, Sugbu Kuryente, Sugbu Sentro, Sugbu Segurado, and Sugbu Kahanas, among others — ensuring their continuity even after she leaves office.
But the move has drawn criticism. “If she was confident about the legitimacy of these projects, why the rush to secure their funding at the very end?” one observer asked.
“Why not follow the example of her cousin, Cebu City Mayor Raymond Garcia, who quickly conceded defeat and promptly organized a transition team?” another said, calling the outgoing governor a “sore loser” for what many perceive as an attempt to cling to the trappings of office.
Ironically, in a recent farewell speech, Garcia herself warned against being “blinded by power” and becoming “greedy” – a statement that many have pointed out might best apply to the speaker herself.
The unanswered question as of posting is: Will the courts grant a TRO? Will history repeat itself, as when the Visayas Ombudsman suspended Garcia during the recent midterm campaign?
(The author, a registered nurse, is assistant station manager of dyRC, a sister network of dzRH of Manila Broadcasting Network).
